Sometimes London galleries can be found in the most unlikely locations – currently the most unique is the bottom floor of the Q Park underground garage on Old Burlington Street in London W1.
Venture down 7 floors below ground in the lift and you’ll step out into a cavernous space that is currently given over to artist Toby Siegler’s work, ‘The Cripples’, one of the works commissioned for this year’s Frieze Art Fair, and which is sponsored by QPark, Absolut and the Embassy Mayfair.
The exhibition comprises five awkward-looking sculptures assembled from geometric shapes paired with eight light boxes depicting horses’ hooves. The sculptures are inspired by figures in Bruegel The Elder’s painting, The Cripples, dating from 1568 which depicts a shambling group of figures with various disabilities dressed to represent different stratas of contemporary society. The large light boxes repeat details from Piero della Francesca’s fresco The Battle of Milvian Bridge from 1466.
In this dark and still space the works take on a rather oppressive quality – there are no external points of reference so it’s just you up against these stark artworks. The occasional rumble from the nearby Victoria Line just adds to the general sense of unease…
The Cripples remains on show until 20 October, and is located at 3-0 Old Burlington St (just enter the building to the left of the carpark entrance and ask to be directed down to the basement).